Angular Router’s everyday routing tasks include reading route information, showing a not-found page, and building links to parameterized routes. Define specific routes before broad ones, place a wildcard route last, and use RouterLink for in-app navigation.
How Angular routing fits into an application
Angular Router is the official @angular/router library for client-side navigation. The browser initially requests the application document; after that, the router can change the displayed view as the URL changes without replacing the whole page. Routes map URL patterns to views and can also carry data, set titles, redirect, load components or child route configurations lazily, and participate in navigation checks.
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See Angular’s routing overview for the wider set of router capabilities.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsGet route information in a component
Route values can be made available to a component through component input binding, or read through route-state APIs such as ActivatedRoute. Which approach fits best depends on the Angular version and application architecture. The official common router tasks guide covers route information and related examples.
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Choose a mechanism that makes the relationship between the URL and the component’s inputs clear. If you are maintaining older code that uses ActivatedRoute, it remains a route-state approach; newer applications may use component input binding where it suits their setup.
Show a not-found page for unmatched paths
A wildcard route uses ** to catch application paths that did not match an earlier route. Put it after all known routes so that it does not capture a URL meant for a more specific page.
const routes: Routes = [
{ path: 'products', component: ProductsPage },
{ path: 'products/:id', component: ProductPage },
{ path: '**', component: PageNotFound }
];The router evaluates route definitions in order and uses the first match. For that reason, route order is part of the behavior, not just formatting. Angular’s route-definition guide explains matching and ordering.
- Keep specific paths ahead of broader patterns.
- Put
{ path: '**', component: PageNotFound }last. - Check both a known URL and an unknown one to confirm the intended component renders.
Redirect with the right path-match rule
A redirect route uses redirectTo to name its destination. The pathMatch option determines how much of the URL must match: 'full' requires the whole path, while 'prefix' matches an initial segment and is the default.
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For a redirect from the empty path, use pathMatch: 'full' so that the redirect applies to the empty path rather than matching URLs that begin with it.
const routes: Routes = [
{ path: '', redirectTo: '/home', pathMatch: 'full' },
{ path: 'home', component: HomePage },
{ path: '**', component: PageNotFound }
];Parameterized redirects can preserve an identifier when the old and new route shapes are compatible. Review the redirecting routes guide for the matching rules and examples.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Build in-app links with RouterLink
Use Angular’s RouterLink directive in a template to navigate within the application. For a route with parameters, a link parameter array assembles the path from separate segments and values.
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<a [routerLink]="['/products', product.id]">View product</a>This form makes the destination and parameter explicit instead of manually concatenating a URL string. Angular’s common router tasks guide includes link and parameter-array guidance.
Keep route loading and access checks distinct
Lazy loading defers route code until it is needed, which is a loading strategy. A guard participates in deciding whether a navigation proceeds, which is a navigation-control decision. They address different concerns and can be used independently.
A browser-side guard is not a substitute for authorization enforced by the server. Protect server data and resources at the server boundary; a client guard primarily shapes navigation behavior. The routing overview and Route API reference describe route capabilities, including loading and guards.
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